Live Oak Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in KWIPPED Inc., which will be used by the B2B company to bring in new talent and add suppliers to meet consumer demand.
“With their robust fintech expertise, forward-thinking leadership and proven track record for success, Live Oak Ventures is perfectly aligned to support our growth objectives and we are both humbled and thrilled to have them lead on our Series A round,” said Robert Preville, CEO of KWIPPED, in a news release.
Wolfpack Investor Network, based in North Carolina, Venture South and The Angel Roundtable, participated alongside Live Oak Ventures in the investment.
KWIPPED is currently engaged in numerous conversations with other potential investors and intends to complete the current investment round, said Preville in an email Monday.
KWIPPED is a Wilmington-based business-to-business equipment rental and leasing marketplace. The company recently moved to a bigger space in downtown Wilmington.
“Our business is growing rapidly, and we are expanding our staff as we scale,” Preville said. “Our recent round of funding, led by Live Oak Ventures, has given us the resources to execute an exciting growth plan. We are currently hiring and our new office space at 228 N. Front St, Suite 202, will accommodate this expansion.”
Live Oak Ventures (briefly renamed Canapi Inc.) is a Live Oak Bancshares subsidiary that aims to invest in companies using and developing next-generation platforms to provide new solutions at scale, quickly and efficiently, stated the release.
“Our focus is to invest in cutting-edge companies, and KWIPPED has tremendous opportunity to leverage technology to feed an unmet demand in the highly fragmented rental and leasing markets,” Timur Davis, Live Oak Ventures principal, said in a news release. “We believe KWIPPED has the ability and expertise to scale their business in a rapidly growing market with immense potential.”
Live Oak Bancshares launched Live Oak Ventures, a fintech-focused company, in February and named Davis as the principal in May.
KWIPPED has raised $852,309 in funding since 2017, according to two filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. An SEC filing for the Live Oak Ventures investment was not available as of Monday afternoon.
(Preville and Rob Kaiser are part owners of KWIPPED. Preville is part owner of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal along with Kaiser, who is also the Business Journal’s publisher.)
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